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ancient history > rome > Flashcards

rome Flashcards

1
Q

3 periods of rome

A
  1. etruscan 2000 BC
  2. the republic 43 BC
    -julius caesar
    -senators (no emperors) and 2 counsels
  3. the empire AD 37
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2
Q

roman social structure/hierarchy

social mobility

A

-no definable middle class
-born into social status, limited positions to vary
-reflected political power

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3
Q

main factors determining your place in roman society

A
  1. citizenship status
  2. place of birth
  3. level of wealth
  4. live in country/city
  5. free
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4
Q

6

hierachy top to bottom

A
  1. emperor
    -control political, military, eco, religious authority
  2. imperial family
  3. elite
    -patricians
    -senators
    -equestrian order (knights NOT hereditary)
  4. PLEBIANS (ingenui)
    -freeborn
    -Plebs Media (wealthier)
    -Plebs Humilus, poor)
    -freeborn citizens
  5. Liberti (freedmen = once slaves) (no women, lower social ranking)
    Wealthy freedmen
    Poorer Freedmen
    * NEVER allowed enter senatorial order
    -Gained manumission (freedom)
    -Sometimes granted by master, otherwise save payments and buy freedom
    -Once freed, often stayed connected with masters, patron + client relationship
  6. Servi (latin)
    Slaves, have own hierarchy
    -Some educated, some domestic, others employed to clean toilets, bathhouses, most humble slaves at mines & gally slaves (Ships, chained underneath deck and rowing constantly)
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5
Q

patron/client relationship
liberti, poorer freedmen

A

-slaves set free, never allowed to enter senatorial order
-even later gaining wealth, servile origin never forgotten
-Usually political/business relationships
-If freedmen set business, patron from elite could help set up w/ contacts, money, etc
-In return, freedman show loyalty and support for patron esp in political office
-Maintain relationship was reciprocal, benefits both parties
-sometimes freedmen became incredibly wealthy with their businesses, wealth threatened elite who had lot of money too, despised ‘new money’not not wealthy for generations
-Sometimes freedmen sons ran for political officers to elevate social ranking

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6
Q

senators

A

served emperor throughout empire
-gained wealth from large estates
-hereditary

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7
Q

upperstrata

A

emperor
imperial family
senators, equestrians, rich freedmen

1, 2,3

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8
Q

lower strata

A

-poor freedborn citizens (plebs)
-freedmen (liberti)
-slaves

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9
Q

plebs urbana & plebs rustica

A

city dwellers (better chances for employment, more access to public life and entertainment) and country dwellers

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10
Q

urban plebs (

A

despised, squalid living conditions, inferior food & clothes

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11
Q

‘bread and circuses’

A

lower classes greater in number than upper classes, emperors kept content by handing out food & public entertainment

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12
Q

slaves

A

exploited for wealth from agriculture & manufacture labour
-defeated in war, free citizens sold themselves to pay debt
-renamed
-wealthy romans used ownership as status symbol (diff to find avg no owned, evidence)
-3 slaves/less poverty

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13
Q

rights of slaves

A

-no right to marry/family/own property/acquire wealth
-some operated businesses but money never belonged to them

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14
Q

peculium

A

roman masters give slave ALLOWANCE (money, goods, land) to accumulate it and buy freedom
-master could withdraw any time

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15
Q

public slaves

A

owned by state
-clean sewers, public baths, roads

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16
Q

rural slaves

A

harder life than urban slaves
-farms, large estates, owned by individuals

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17
Q

treatment of slaves

A

-abused, punished, sold
-investment: had to be fed, clothed, housed
-owners didnt wanna damage property, lose value
-could be loved/brutality
-roman law, no rights, masters life/death but waste of investment

  • punish indiscriminately whipping, beating for small misdemeanours
    -serious: crucified, beasts circus, burnt alive

-emperor Claudius passed legislation to improve conditions & treatment

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18
Q

manumission (process), emancipation (manumissio)

A

freeing of slaves
-obtain freedom
1. master give permission to appear before lictor, declare slave free by touching with rod, slave wore cap: LIBERTY
2. buy freedom ‘nest egg’ peculium

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19
Q

paterfamilias

A

male head of roman family, whole household ‘father of HH’
-absolute authority
-earlier held life/death over family later limited

20
Q

3 diff powers of paterfamilias

A
  1. PATRIA POTESTAS
    -paterfamilias over children (parental authority)
  2. MANUS
    -power of fathers, brothers, husbands over women
  3. DOMINUS
    -authority over slaves
    ‘master/owner of slaves’
21
Q

domestic hearth

A

centre of roman HH where paterfamilias celebrate religious practices with family

worship
1. LARES
-HH deities for home
-own shrine (cupboard)
-dropped food offered
2. GENUIS
-god of male descent
-worshipped on bday of paterfamilias
3. PENATES
-gods of food store/larder
-statuetees on table at meals

everyone home had its own shrine/lararium for daily worship by whole fam

22
Q

education and paterfamilias

A

paterfamilias responsible + religious training of children
-only males possessed soul(ANIMUS)
-women, children, slaves dependend on husband, father, master for animus

23
Q

divorce

A

end of the Republic divorce epidemic proportions
-Augustus tried regularise procedure of divoce
-only need agreement of married couple to part, publicly announced w/ 7 witnesses & written + announced by freedman of HH

bc of this, wife could reclaim dowry after divorce, husbands scared to lose wife’s dowry and married financial only

24
Q

roman values

A

virtues taught within family extending to publi and political life
-romans honoured past acts of ancestors ‘MOS MAIORUM)

25
Q

key virtues of roman values

A

GRAVITAS
-responsibility even smallest affairs too great to be trifled with
-nothing too much trouble

PIETAS
-sense of duty to gods and parents
-obedience and parental authority

SIMPLICITAS
-grounded, see with clarity and subjectively

26
Q

-education

A

restricted to upper classes
-slaves, most freeborn lil to none (handle coinage, unable to read/write)
-Republican, mothers responsible to educate children
-Imperial, education handed to nurses & slaves, learnt latin literature > greek classics
-arithmetic
-no formal edu system, taught by PAEDAGOGUS (literate slave) in HH
-boys educatred for public life 17yo when donned TOGA VIRILIS
-apartment buildings, no desks/boards

27
Q

teachers in rome

A

no formal training, paid poorly, long hours, occupation for freedmen/impoverished free men

28
Q

patron-client relationship

A

IMPERIAL period, emperor ‘super’ patron as families paid him homage
-upper strata patrons to lower in social order
-responsibility for client to support patron at political elections and favours
-in return, patron assist client in legal matters/free meal
-each morning clients flock to patrons house to pay respects (SALUTATIO) to flatter & gain favour

29
Q

shops and markets

A

political demads took over end of Republic, removed from Forum and spread to nearby streets & districts
-specialised goods near river Tiber
-meat/cattle market Forum Boarium
-veg market Forum Holitorium
-general market (Oil, wine, wheat) Velabrium
-most shops ground floor of building , above living quarters
-goods transported from country at night shops open early morning

30
Q

Forum Romanum (fora as emperors added own forums)

A

Republic centre of roman life
-public ceremonies, political, legal, commercial, relgiious activities
-public speeches given from podium of temple of castor & pollux

31
Q

housing

A

-some lavishly decorated public buildings
-residential areas cramped, squalid

DOMUS (independent house/estate)
-imperial family
-owned by members of senatorial/equestrian class

INSULAE
-multi-storey apartments/tenements
-majority of pop
-spacious/tiny cubicle only sleep

32
Q

upper classes imperial period housing

A

atriums and tablinums from republic not fashionable anymore
-gardens, courtyards main features + mosaics, paintings on walls
-imperial bureaucracy offices within palace
-reflect profession, wealth, status (spacious if bus conducted in home)

33
Q

INSULAE/tabernae for POOR

A

surrounded by narrow streets
-wealthier lower floors
-cramped, noisy, lack privacy
-lack amenities (heating, lighting)
-shared cooking facilities, latrines

34
Q

streets

A

extensive communication system of roads
-straight roads, narrow
-main streets accessible (shops, businesses for 1 industry)
-crossraods at end
-little sunlight penetrated to streets, shaded by high public buildings and multi-storey insulae
-raised footpaths to collect rainwater and rubbish

35
Q

water supply

A

originally water from Tiber but growing city exploit other sources
-aquaducts brought water from ivers into rome distributed through nymphaea
-private supply needed emperor permission

36
Q

sanitation

A

large channel underneath Forum Romanum to dispose waste
-system running water through public latrines and channel to move

37
Q

health

A

minor problems modern life threatening to ancient romans
-cause of disease not understood, remedies primitive
-doctors untrained and for everyone, risked lives for experiements and no penalty for killng man
-magic charms, healing herbs, prayers for cures
-no hospitals
-common ‘swollong eyes, skin rashes, lost limbs’
-high lead content in body, cooking pots and water thru lead pipes, inadvertently poisoning themselves –> infertility, high infant mortality

38
Q

death and burial customs

A

-short life expectancy
-few lived beyond 50
-showed great PIETAS towards dead
-believied spirits (manes) close links with lviing, required offerings for afterlife and haunt if adquate burial didnt occur
-dead went to underworld (Hades)
-deathbed on bare earth last breath kissed by relative
-CONCLAMATIO loudly call dead’s name to reawaken body, no response –> CONCLAMATIO beyond recall
-wash corpse with warm water, oil body, temporary embalming process, dress clothes by rank
-body on funeral couch in atrium feet point towards door, candles burned around with wreaths
-time corpses displayed & funeral depend on social class
-poor buried in pits w/ no ceremony + children

39
Q

public and private religion

A

ritual, not faith/belief
-no personal relation with gods or offer doctrine/explanation of world
-polytheistic worshipped many, 12 olympic gods
-believed controlled spheres of nature
-worship as offerings, sacrifices, festivals, games
-divination (tell will of gods from omens) major part
-religion integral part of MOS MAIORUM

40
Q

omens

A

bad/good
-bird watching common, look at flight to find will of gods

41
Q

priests

A

-officials of state
-imperial period very involved in religious duties
-Flamines for major deities of roman state
-conduct sacrifices, take auspices (read entrails), perform rituals, thank gods on behalf of imperial family
-chief priest Pontifex Maximus

42
Q

ludi romani (games)

A

social, eco, political, relgiious functions
-days devoited to theatrical shows, chariot races, animal hunts, parades

43
Q

gods and goddesses

A

closely resembled Greeks but renamed
Imperial times, custom to worship emperors as gods (deification)
-believed watched every aspect of life but many lost faith by 1st century BC

jUPITER (Zeus) god of thunder, king of all gods
Juno (hear) wife, goddess of women & childbirth
Minerva (Athena) goddess of wisdom

44
Q

romans worshipping of the gods (polytheistic)

A

constantine ‘the great’ legalised christianity via Edict of Milan, before, it was persecuted
-gods special responsibilities, kept happy with sacrifices & ceremonies or bad luck

elected/voted for ‘king of sacrifices’ REX SACRORUM who worked under HEAD PRIEST ‘PONTIFEX MAXIMUS’ to organise all religious practices

festivals sacrificed animals
-internal organs examined for omens from gods (entrails, auspices)
-natural events (thunder, lightning) priests to interpret

Roman HH
-shrine for offerings(foodstuff, drinks, prayers) to gods to protect HH
-spirits of ancestors happiness in underworld (flowers, food, wine) early morning & before evening main meal

interest in Egyptian gods (Isis)

45
Q

christianity in rome

A

monotheistic god challenged romans (condemned slaves, cruel sport in amphitheatres), stop worshipping emperor)
-ppl in Palestine Jesus Christ eternal life, love in heaven son of God
-leaders of jewish religion afraid to lose power, crucified christ but crucifixion convinced christ was god’s son
-prison, tortured but offered poor hope for better life after death
-ad 313 major religion of empire faded others until ad 392 only Christianity and temples converted to churches

ancient history (4 decks)

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